PAUL Warhurst dodged a red card at Derby on Saturday but there was no escaping the wrath of Sam Allardyce.

The Wanderers boss will carpet his midfield ace for his spat with Benito Carbone in the heat of the Pride Park battle.

Warhurst got away with a booking for throwing the ball in disgust at the Italian as he lay on the ground, seemingly making a meal of a Kevin Nolan tackle.

Allardyce, who substituted the midfielder just seconds after the 75th minute flashpioint, argued that Carbone was neither fouled nor injured but insisted that was no excuse.

"Obviously Paul lost his cool with what Carbone did," the manager said. "But Carbone is Carbone and we all know that."

Allardyce feared that one more indiscretion would have left referee Matt Messias no option but to brandish a red card meaning a second suspension in quick succession for Warhurst, which Wanderers can ill afford at this stage of the season.

"I had to bring Paul off for my protection as much as his because he's one of our best passers and at the moment he's so important to us," he explained. "He's known for the odd rash moment but I'm not happy. I'll deal with Paul behind closed doors, as I always do, and tell him exactly how I feel.

"I suppose you could argue that some refs might have sent Paul off. I sat there thinking 'Is it going to be a red or is it going to be a yellow?' It can happen.

"The thing is it wasn't a free kick and he (Carbone) wasn't injured - that's the problem. But Paul shouldn't have reacted."

The spat tarnished another outstanding performance by Warhurst, who returned after serving a one-match ban for collecting five yellow cards.

Ignoring his anger for a moment, Allardyce acknowledged: "He was awesome. When he has plenty of room you give him the ball and he'll play."